Search

Saint Louis’ failed crusade to Egypt has epitomized for centuries the high risks of conquering Egypt. Leibniz’s suggestion to the Sun King to conquer Egypt went unheeded. The key strategic value of Egypt for French interests reemerged in the course of the XVIII Century in several policy papers ignored by French diplomacy, which kept to the alliance with the Ottoman Empire. Only after the Revolution, the business interests of a merchant, the new colonial policy of a Foreign Minister and the ambition of a young General combined into launching the Egyptian expedition.

Among the works of Leibniz, those written as a young advisor to the Prince Elector of Mainz reveal unusual political sensitivity. However, his suggestion to the Sun King to conquer Egypt instead of attacking the Netherlands went unheeded, without leaving any trace in the French archives. Actually, the British rediscovered Leibniz’s plan and used it as a tool of information warfare against France. Later, during the 1840 Oriental Crisis, the Consilium Aegyptiacum resurfaced in France in an anti-British pamphlet. The Prussian General von Minutoli and the US Navy officer Alfred T. Mahan assessed Leibniz’s paper from different strategic perspectives.